Combined firearm and motion picture camera



Feb. 11, 1969 1.. H. WADE COMBINED FIREARM AND MOTION PICTURE CAMERA Filed July 29. 1966* INVENTOR LLOYD H. WADE ATTORNEY United States Patent 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rifle carries a movie camera with its focal axis parallel to the barrel. A camera actuating member is located at the rearward end of the rifle stock, permitting a hunter to actuate the camera by forcibly urging the rifle stock against his shoulder.

This invention relates to a firearm of conventional construction which is combined in a unique manner with a movie camera so that a hunter may photographically record those movements of his quarry before, during and after it is shot.

Movie cameras on firearms have been devised by those working in the prior art. This invention includes certain refinements which serve to improve the performance and utility of such combinations.

Two considerations are paramount in the construction and operation of devices of this type. First, the location of the movie camera and its controls must be such that there will be no interference with or distraction from the ordinary use of the firearm; and second, the operation of the firearm, especially its recoil effect, must not substantially affect the moviemaking process.

Essentially, the aforementioned considerations constitute the objects of this invention, since the combination set forth herein does meet the requirements of a satisfactory -assembly of this type.

One object of the invention is to provide a means by which a hunter may sight and shoot his quarry, and, at the same time, actuate his movie camera without any complicated maneuvers or distractions which would interfere with the firearm firing sequence. This object is a direct result of the disclosed construction in which the cameras trigger is actuated, through a transmission means, by a remote camera actuating means that extends rearwardly of the butt of the firearm. This enables the hunter to actuate the camera by simply urging the butt of the firearm against his shoulder.

Another object of the invention is to provide more satisfactory movies than could be produced by devices of this type found in the prior art. This is due to the fact that the location of the camera, at a forward end of the firearm, reduces the extent to which the barrel will rise upon recoil, and thus reduces the number of movie frames which are lost as the firearm recoils and returns to its normal position.

These and other objects are satisfied by the single embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings which represents but one of the many possible variations of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the combined fire-arm and movie camera;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the disclosed embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the movie camera and the mountings and linkages closely adjacent thereto; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the safety device which prevents inadvertent operation of the movie camera.

It will be noted from the drawings that the firearm is of "ice standard construction, having a conventional elongated barrel 4. The stock 6 is attached to and projects rearwardly from the barrel. The overall length of the firearm will be at least three feet, and the barrel 4 is at least two feet in length. The member 8 is a housing which encloses a standard firing mechanism. Trigger 10, which is located below the rearward end of the barrel 4, is a portion of the firing mechanism. Upon rearward movement of trigger 10, there is a detonation of an explosive charge in the particular shell or cartridge located in the firing chamber of the firearm. In the big game rifle illustrated, the forearm 12 provides a forward handgrip portion beneath the barrel at a position forward of the trigger 10. In other analogous firearms, the forward handgrip portion may constitute an extension of the stock 6 which underlies the barrel, or in some instances, may be the barrel itself. Conventional sights 14 and 16 are provided on the barrel to facilitate aiming of the firearm. It is preferred to use a conventional telescopic sight which has been omitted from the drawings for purposes of clarity.

A well known incident to the use of high-powered firearm such as the pump action big game rifle illustrated is that there is a substantial amount of recoil. This recoil is troublesome when attempting to make moving pictures with a camera mounted on the firearm. It is sufiiciently strong that a great number of frames of the movie may be lost and the hunter may find it difficult to realign the camera with the quarry after a shot is fired.

In order to alleviate the recoil difliculties which are present in the arrangements disclosed in the prior art, it has been found desirable to mount the camera toward the forward end of the barrel 4 at a position forward of the forearm 12 or other forward handgrip portion. The camera itself constitutes a housing 17 with a lens assembly 18 and a lens 20 (see FIG. 3) which has its focal axis substantially parallel to the barrel 4. The movie camera is held on the barrel in this position by means of thin metallic straps 22 and 24 which are circumferentially contracted by means of the bolts 26 and 28 to retain the camera. In order to protect the camera housing, soft elastomeric material such as foam rubber may be interposed between the straps 22, 24 and the camera housing 17. As best shown in FIG. 3, each of the straps includes a loop portion 30 or 32 which encircles the barrel. These loop portions are held tightly to the barrel by means of Allyn bolts which extend through the cylindrical spacer members 34 and 36.

The movie camera 15 is of conventional construction, with the housing 17 enclosing a film advancing and exposing mechanism which rapidly exposes in sequence a series of frames on a strip of film. As is usual in cameras of this type, a trigger 38 is mounted on the housing. Depression of the trigger 38 actuates the film advancing and exposing mechanism and causes the camera to operate in the usual manner.

It will be appreciated that when a camera is mounted on the forward end of a barrel as shown in the drawings, it is diflicult for a hunter to depress the trigger 38 while sighting the firearm. This invention, in one of its aspects, involves a novel and extremely convenient means for actuating the camera trigger 38 from a remote position located adjacent the butt end 42 of the stock 6. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 there is a remote camera actuating button 40 which extends rearwardly from the butt portion 42 of the stock 6. This button 40 is located in a position so that it may be depressed upon forcible movement of the firearm and the butt portion 42 against the shoulder of a hunter. This arrangement makes it unnecessary for the hunter to use his already occupied hands when he wishes to commence taking a movie.

Of course, it is necessary that there be some type of transmission means interconnecting for simultaneous movement the remote camera actuating button 40 and the camera trigger 38. The disclosed transmission means involves a mechanical linkage. This mechanical linkage involves an elongated rod 46 which extends bodily through the stock -6 and then extends forwardly in a direction parallel to the barrel 4. Guide means such as illustrated at 48 may be employed to prevent undesirable bowing of the elongated rod 46.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the elongated rod 46 at its forward end includes an offset portion 49, and it then extends forwardly again as it passes slidably through the guide spacer 34. Forwardly of the spacer 34 and above the forward end of the camera housing there is a transverse portion of the rod 46 which is connected at 51 to the upper end of a lever 52. The lower end of the lever 52 carries a transverse rod 54 which, upon rearward movement, is capable of depressing the trigger 38. The lever is pivotally connected intermediate its ends at 56 the strap means 22 or any other member which is fixed with respect to the camera housing 17.

From the foregoing description, it will readily be observed that forward movement of the remote camera actuating button 40 at the rear of the stock 6 will cause forward movement of the elongated rod 46, pivotal movement of the lever 52 and consequent depression of the camera trigger 38 as it is moved by the member 54.

There will be occasions when hunting that a hunter will not wish to take pictures, and other times when it is desired to prevent inadvertent actuation of the movie camera. Toward this end, there is provided a safety lever '58 which is illustrated best in FIG. 4. This lever 58 is pivotally mounted on the rifle stock by means of a screw 60. The outer end of the lever includes a bifurcated portion having legs 62 and 64 which are adapted to ride on opposite sides of the reduced diameter portion 66 of the remote camera actuating button 40. When the legs 62 and 64 are in position on opposite sides of the reduced diameter portion 66, the enlarged diameter portion 68 of of the button 40 will not be able to move forwardly and the camera cannot be actuated.

Another manner in which one may prevent inadvertent actuation of the camera is to remove entirely the remote camera actuating button 40 from the rear end of the stock. To facilitate this, the reduced diameter portion 66 of the button 40 is threadedly engaged with the rear end of the elongated rod 46. By simply turning and removing the button 40, there will be no extension rearwardly of the butt portion 42 and the camera cannot be actuated. This latter described structure also permits convenient installation of the coil spring 69 within the stock 6 which normally urges the button 40 toward its rearward position.

The manner of using the combined firearm and movie camera will readily be recognized. A hunter will locate his quarry and follow it with the sight just as if there were no camera attached to the firearm. When the game is sighted, the butt portion 42 of the firearm is forcibly urged against the hunters shoulder to actuate the movie camera. The camera may remain actuated both before, during and after the shot is fired. The forward location of the camera will minimize the recoil effect so that very few frames of the movie are lost during shooting.

It will be apprecated that the novel combination described above represents an advancement over prior art assemblies of this general type. Likewise, it will be appreciated that this combination may satisfactorily be employed with a Wide variety of firearms and movie cameras. The details of the mountings and linkages are susceptible to many modifications.

I claim:

1. The combination comprising, a firearm and a movie camera; said firearm having an elongated barrel and a stock attached to and extending rearwardly of the barrel,

a firing mechanism including a firearm trigger located below and adjacent to the rear end of the barrel for producing detonation of an explosive charge which propels projectiles through the barrel, means providing a forward handgrip portion beneath said barrel and forwardly of said firing mechanism; said camera having a housing and a lens with a focal axis substantially parallel to said barrel, means attaching said camera to said barrel forwardly of said forward handgrip portion, said camera having film advancing and exposing mechanisms for rapidly exposing in sequence a plurality of frames of an elongated strip of film, a camera trigger on said housing for actuating the film advancing and exposing mechanisms, remote camera actuating means projecting rearwardly from the butt portion of the stock and located to be depressed upon forcible movement thereof against the shoulder of a user, a mechanical linkage interconnecting for simultaneous movement the remote camera actuating means and the camera trigger, said mechanical linkage including an elongated rod which runs longitudinally along the barrel; whereby the forward location of the camera reduces the extent of movement of the camera and firearm during recoil.

2. The combination comprising, a firearm and a movie camera; said firearm having an elongated barrel and a stock attached to and extending rearwardly of the barrel, a butt portion on said stock for resting against the shoulder of a user, a firing mechanism including a firearm trigger located below and adjacent to the rear end of the barrel for producing detonation of an explosive charge which propels projectiles through the barrel; said camera having a housing and a lens with a focal axis substantialy parallel to said barrel, means attaching said camera to the firearm, said camera having film advancing and exposing mechanisms for rapidly exposing in sequence a plurality of frames of an elongated strip of film, a camera trigger on said housing for actuating the film advancing and exposing mechanisms; remote camera actuating means projecting rearwardly from the butt portion of the stock and located to be depressed upon forcible movement thereof against the shoulder of a user, transmission means interconnecting for simultaneous movement the remote camera actuating means and the camera trigger; whereby a user may forcibly urge the butt portion of the stock and the remote camera actuating means against his shoulder to cause operation of the movie camera.

3. The combination of claim 2 in Which the firearm has a forward handgrip portion beneath the barrel and forwardly of the firing mechanism, said movie camera being located forwardly of said forward handgrip portion.

4. The combination of claim 2 in which said transmission means is a mechanical linkage including an elongated rod which extends through said stock and runs longitudinally along said barrel.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which said remote camera actuating means is a rearwardly extending member attached to the elongated rod, said extending member having a radially enlarged portion at its end spaced rearwardly from the butt portion of the stock, a safety lever pivotally attached to said stock and having a portion movable to a position between the butt and said radially enlarged portion to prevent accidental forward movement of the elongated rod and the consequent movement of the camera trigger.

6. The combination of claim 4 in which the remote camera actuating means is a member detachably attached to the rearward end of said elongated rod; whereby said remote camera actuating means may be removed to prevent accidental forward movement of the elongated rod and consequent movement of the camera trigger.

7. The combination of claim 4 in which said transmission means includes a lever with one end pivotally attached to the forward end of said elongated rod, an-

other end of the lever having means for contacting the camera trigger, said lever being pivotally connected intermediate said ends to a point fixed with respect to the camera housing.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which said camera is attached to said barrel by strap means which encircle said camera housing, said lever being pivotally connected intermediate its said ends to said strap means.

9. The combination of claim 7 in which said elongated rod has a transverse portion at its forward end which is connected to said lever at a point horizontally displaced from the barrel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,000 7/1916 Pfander 35295 1,960,998 5/1934 Hindley et al. 9534 2,382,981 8/1945 Edgerton 352-179 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

R. A. SCHROEDER, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 352-179 

